Former CNN Chief Anchor Bernard Shaw Dies at 82

Former CNN chief anchor Bernard Shaw died Wednesday at the age of 82.

Shaw died of phenomena unrelated to the coronavirus, according to his family in a statement to CNN.

Shaw was CNN’s first chief anchor when the network launched in June 1980 and held that position until he retired in February 2001.

“CNN’s beloved anchor and colleague, Bernard Shaw, passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Bernie was a CNN original and was our Washington Anchor when we launched on June 1st, 1980,” said CNN CEO and Chairman Chris Licht in a statement.

Licht added:

He was our lead anchor for the next twenty years from anchoring coverage of presidential elections to his iconic coverage of the First Gulf War live from Baghdad in 1991. Even after he left CNN, Bernie remained a close member of our CNN family providing our viewers with context about historic events as recently as last year. The condolences of all of us at CNN go out to his wife Linda and his children.

In addition to his Gulf War coverage, Shaw also covered the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, the Death of Princes Diana in 1997, and moderated presidential and vice presidential debates.

Shaw was well known for asking tough questions to politicians he was interviewing or moderating in debates.

One of Shaw’s most notable moments came while moderating the second debate of the 1988 Presidential Election.

In the first question of the debate, he asked Democrat presidential nominee Michael Dukakis a highly charged question regarding the death penalty while naming his wife.

“Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?” Shaw asked.

Without missing a beat, Dukakis replied: “No, I don’t, Bernard. And I think you know that I’ve opposed the death penalty during all of my life.”

It is believed by many that Dukakis’s tone-deaf answer to Shaw’s question was the key moment that won George H.W. Bush the presidency in 1988.

Shaw took pride in asking challenging questions, Politico noted.

“As reporters, we were not doing our jobs if we don’t ask the toughest question possible,” he said.

Shaw added:

I couldn’t not do that. I’m from the Chicago school of journalism. I believe in asking tough questions. This whole process is too easy on politicians. They fly up and down the country asking for votes and they ought to be forced to stand up and say what they really feel. Otherwise the voters are being jilted.

According to a CNN fact page about Shaw, he was born in Chicago in 1940 and grew up in the city’s Southside. He served in the U.S. Marine corps from 1959 to 1963 before graduating from the University of Chicago in 1969.

Before becoming CNN’s first chief anchor, Shaw worked as a political reporter for CBS and then as the Latin America correspondent for ABC.

Shaw leaves behind his wife, Linda, and two children.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.